“Airlines around the world—including Air Canada, Air Berlin, EasyJet, and Norwegian Air Shuttle—are quickly moving to tighten security in cockpits,” reports Barbara Peterson, “immediately putting into place new procedures to prevent flight crew from being left alone at the controls, even for a few minutes. The moves come just 48 hours after an Airbus A320 operated by Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings crashed into a mountain in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.” (Condé Nast Traveler)

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Beijing Capital International, and London Heathrow remained the three busiest airports in the world for 2014, according to new data from Airports Council International. Dubai International and Los Angeles International—sixth and fifth—had about the same number of passengers, roughly 70 million, an increase of six percent over last year. Istanbul Ataturk, with a more than ten percent bump in traffic, moved five spots up the list.

Carnival will add nine new cruise ships to its fleet between 2019 and 2022, the company said. “The new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in North America and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China,” Carnival said in a statement. The company already has 101 vessels under nine brands, with nine additional ships coming to market through 2018.

The Airbnb of automobiles? CarHopper, a new service that lets users rent out their personal vehicles by the day or even by the hour, will launch in April, with beta sign-up available now. RelayRides and FlightCar are two other existing start ups with similar rent-your-own-car models. (CarHopper)

“Across oceans and decades, postcards have proven more often than not to be as relevant now as when they were first dropped in the mail,” Amy Alipio writes about the outmoded form of correspondence. “They’ve also been consistent sources of elation and wonder at the world throughout time. Who doesn’t smile when they receive a postcard in the mail, especially in this day and age?” (National Geographic Traveler)

The ultimate trip: Astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled to depart Kazakhstan today for a year aboard the International Space Station. (NASA)